Fossils as Key Resources of Hydrocarbons for the Chemical Industry - The Burning Problem of Industrial Development

Intensive research is being pursued world-wide to establish a methodology for industrial development. Many types of changes play an important role in the dynamics of the industrial structure in both large and small economies. The global energy supply and future substitution of crude oil are among the most important and widely investigated constraints. With the existing patterns of production and development strongly determined by the specific conditions in a given region, the development of various raw materials for the chemical industry is of great importance. The impact of changing production methods in feedstock hydrocarbons on industrial development requires further intensive research. A non-uniform demand vector and a variety of possible production processes, with a constrained supply of resources in different economic regions and countries, open a number of possibilities for new and non-conventional solutions. Further, hydrocarbon synthesis for the chemical industry should be a high priority research goal, not only because of the scale of demand, but because of the properties of the substances themselves. Provided the problem of production of hydrocarbon feedstock for the chemical industry can be solved successfully, the same methodology could also be used for the analysis of synfuel production: It would contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of the industrial structure.